I have been reading non-medical books at an embarrassingly slow pace these days. Alack. However, I am nicely into Go In Peace by John Paul II, and it is rich with Truth and Wisdom. I decided to quote from what I read yesterday as I found it to be so well written.
"Truth cannot be disregarded in order to place the blame for an individual's sins on external factors such as structures, systems, or other people. Above all, this would be to deny the person's dignity and freedom, which are manifested --even though in a negative and disasterous way--in his responsibility for the sin committed. There is nothing so personal and nontransferable in each individual as merit for virtue or responsibility for sin. Like all things human, the conscience can fail and encounter illusions and errors. It is a delicate voice that can be overpowered by a noisy, distracted way of life, or almost suffocated by a long-lasting and serious habit of sin.
Conscience needs to be nurtured and educated, and the preferred way to form it--at least for those who have the grace of faith--is to relate it to the biblical revelation of the moral law, authoritatively interpreted with the help of the Church and the Holy Spirit."
Go In Peace, John Paul II
This is why it is so important for us to guard our lives, to ensure that we do not become so distracted that our conscience fails, falling into illusions and errors. The still small voice inside of us can so easily be lost in the chaotic noise. This is one of the primary reasons why for the past four years I have not had cable tv in my house---it too easily becomes a near constant source of background noise that gunks up my filter.
2 comments:
Great stuff. Protestants often miss out on giving merit when humans do achieve - sort of a I am really nothing false humility complex. Not Biblical. Scripture calls us gods, as Christ pointed out.
As for the Halifax, sounds like you are having a tremendous time. A couple of those graveyards hold the bodies of many of the Titanic victims. We used to live at 70-10 Lakefront Road in Dartmouth. It is on a big hill that overlooks the harbour on one side and Lake Banook and Sullivan's pond on another. The rowing competitions should be starting up on Lake Banook any day. If you head down there on Saturday you'll probably see a lot of boats out.
There is also the Oak Island mystery about buried treasure. There's also a place by Lunenburg called the ovens. It's a little park where they have built short tunnels into the rock and the tide comes in and sounds like a huge drum. Also, you definitely must get out to Fundy for the day. I recommend driving to Wolfville, home of Acadia university. Very cute town. Go for coffee on the main street in some quaint shop. Then drive down to Blomidon and Cape Split (maybe cape spear?). There is a little camp called Truth For Youth where Sarah used to be a camper and counselor. It is sort of the end of the road there, but you can hike up Cape Split and get a pretty amazing view. Don't climb the cliffs like Sarah did when she was young and foolish!
There's also a place called the Look off near there which overlooks a huge section of the Annapolis Valley and many apple orchards. Call me if you want any more details of how to get where.
Post a Comment